British Airways has declared that it is also experiencing problems with the paintwork of its Airbus A350 aircraft, according to IAG Group Chief Executive Luis Gallego.
According to Luis Gallego, defects on the surface of the fuselage and wings affect planes as early as the first heavy overhaul of the plane, usually carried out after 2 or 3 years of use. Qatar Airways was the first to report such a problem, indicating that it affects the aircraft's paintwork and the fuselage's lightning protection system.
“We can see the problem in the daily checks, but mainly when you stop the aircraft for the first C-Check”, he said in an interview with Reuters, adding that “we have very young aircraft, so the level of defects we see is perhaps not comparable to others”.
“We have reported our case to EASA, and EASA has told us that the level of degradation we are experiencing does not affect the airworthiness of the aircraft”, said Louis.
In this way, British Airways continues to use its Airbus A350 aircraft, pending a definitive solution from Airbus to the problem.
Five other airlines also face the same problem, including Qatar Airways, the only one that decided to stop operations with 22 A350 planes that are affected by the problems.
Luis Gallego said that British Airways will continue to receive new A350 aircraft, and also negotiating with Airbus on a possible order of 200 narrowbody aircraft.
With information Reuters.
